These top 20 Goodfellas quotes will take you back to your favorite scenes from this cult classic!
This mobster movie starring iconic names such as Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci is considered one of the best made. While it’s mainly packed with action, Goodfellas has many interestingly deep and meaningful messages. Loyalty and the brutality and harshness of our world are some of its main morals.
To portray these lessons, Goodfellas used regular, blue-collar workers. This is so different from what we usually know of the mafia, especially when we compare it to The Godfather. Because of this twist, Goodfellas became a highly relevant movie for many of its viewers.
A lot of the scenes from the movie will touch your heart and send chills down your spine. If you’re curious about them, check out the list below!
Learn more about Goodfellas here.
And don’t forget to check out these Taxi Driver quotes and Scarface quotes.
Best Goodfellas Quotes
1. “You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you’d say to somebody, ‘You’re gonna like this guy; he’s all right. He’s a goodfella. He’s one of us.’ You understand? We were goodfellas, wiseguys.’” – Henry Hill
2. “I’m not mad; I’m proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man, and you learned two great things in your life. Look at me. Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.” – Jimmy Conway
3. “For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a gangster. To me, that was better than being president of the United States. To be a gangster was to own the world.” – Henry Hill
4. “To me, it meant being somebody in a neighborhood full of nobodies.” – Henry Hill
5. “I like going this way. It’s better than waiting in line.” – Henry Hill
6. “You’d be late for your own f*ckin’ funeral.” – Tommy DeVito
7. “For us to live any other way was nuts. Uh, to us, those goody-good people who worked sh*tty jobs for bum paychecks and took the subway to work every day and worried about their bills were dead. I mean, they were suckers. They had no balls. If we wanted something, we just took it. If anyone complained twice, they got hit so bad, believe me, they never complained again.” – Henry Hill
8. “Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with a bill, he can go to Paulie. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, Tommy, he can call Paulie. But now, the guy’s gotta come up with Paulie’s money every week, no matter what. Business bad? F*ck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? F*ck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning, huh? F*ck you, pay me.” – Henry Hill
9. “Oh, I like this one. One dog goes one way, the other dog goes the other way, and this guy’s sayin’, ‘Whadda ya want from me?’” – Tommy DeVito
10. Henry Hill: “You’re really funny!”
Tommy DeVito: “What do you mean I’m funny? You mean the way I talk?”
Henry Hill: “It’s just, you know, you’re just funny. It’s funny, the way you tell the story and everything.”
Tommy DeVito: “Funny how? I mean, what’s funny about it? I mean, funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I’m here to f*ckin’ amuse you?”
Goodfellas Quotes That You Won’t Be Able to Get Out of Your Head
11. Tommy DeVito: “Just don’t go bustin’ my balls, Billy, okay?”
Billy Batts: “Hey, Tommy, if I was gonna break your balls, I’d tell you to go home and get your shine box.”
12. “You’re a real jerk. You wasted eight f*ckin’ aprons on this guy. I don’t know what the hell’s wrong with you. I gotta toughen this kid up.” – Tuddy Cicero
13. “Anything I wanted was a phone call away. Free cars. The keys to a dozen hideout flats all over the city. I bet 20, 30 grand over a weekend and then I’d either blow the winnings in a week or go to the sharks to pay back the bookies. Didn’t matter. It didn’t mean anything. When I was broke, I’d go out and rob some more. We ran everything. We paid off cops. We paid off lawyers. We paid off judges. Everybody had their hands out. Everything was for the taking. And now it’s all over. And that’s the hardest part. Today everything is different; there’s no action—have to wait around like everyone else. Can’t even get decent food—right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I’m an average nobody. Get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.” – Henry Hill
14. “I know there are women, like my best friends, who would have gotten out of there the minute their boyfriend gave them a gun to hide. But I didn’t. I got to admit the truth. It turned me on.” – Karen Hill
15. “I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers.” – Jimmy Two Times
Goodfellas Quotes to Provoke You
16. “It was revenge for Billy Batts and a lot of other things. And there was nothing that we could do about it. Batts was a made man, and Tommy wasn’t. And we had to sit still and take it. It was among the Italians. It was real greaseball sh*t. They even shot Tommy in the face, so his mother couldn’t give him an open coffin at the funeral.” – Henry Hill
17. “Everybody else in the joint was doing real-time, mixed together living like pigs. But we lived alone, we owned the joint.” – Henry Hill
18. “Jimmy was the kind of guy who rooted for the bad guy in movies.” – Henry Hill
19. “If you’re part of a crew, nobody ever tells you that they’re going to kill you. It doesn’t happen that way. There aren’t any arguments or curses like in the movies. See, your murderers come with smiles. They come as your friends, the people who have cared for you all of your life, and they always seem to come at a time when you’re at your weakest and most in need of their help.” – Henry Hill
20. “One day, some of the kids from the neighborhood carried my mother’s groceries all the way home. You know why? It was outta respect.” – Henry Hill
What Lessons Can You Take Away From the Life of a Mobster?
Goodfellas, though in the same genre as The Godfather, takes an entirely different take on the life of the mafia. Yes, they’re both packed with action and violence. But, in terms of the characters, backgrounds, and personalities, it’s sure that Goodfellas is more relatable.
In the kind of life that the mafia and mobsters live, the brutality and harshness of life are made apparent. This is also why treating everyone in your group with trust and loyalty is essential. Without these values, you will never survive in this world full of betrayal.
The mobster life might have been glamorized in movies, but in reality, it will never be a fun and peaceful life. If you were in their position, how would you feel living with the normalcy of gun fights and murders?
With that, we hope this list was able to help you gain a better understanding of Goodfellas. Remember, no matter how powerful or wealthy you are, living a violent life will never bring you true peace and lasting happiness.
